Apocalypse Dreamer
by MelBell87
Summary: When Zelda dies trying to heal Midna, the triforce has to go somewhere. When it goes to a local girl, she feels a pull that suggests there's more to life than just ordering around the cowardly guards-and putting up with the mysterious blonde boy, Link.
1. Chapter 1 : Where it all Began

**SUMMARY:** When Zelda heals Midna from her injuries given by Zant, her life force drains away in the process-but the triforce of wisdom has to go somewhere. When the triforce finds a new host-a local girl who took up a position in the Hyrule Castle Town Guard, and has been having frequent dreams about the end of her town-she feels a pull that suggests there is more in store for her than just commanding the cowardly soldiers around. But can she find the ability to not only trust, but follow the orders of the mysterious boy who's been coming to the town that, according to Telma, could truly use her help? Rated T for language. LinkXOC. Reviews appreciated (:

**AN:** My first LoZ story! Sorry if there are any mistakes or such. If so, please PM me and let me know(:

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, or any of the characters; however, I do own Nina and the soon-to-be-presented Loki(:

It was an absolute _scorcher_ out today. The sunlight was beating down on her incessantly, and under all the armor she felt as if she was about to sweat out into a little puddle on the sidewalk. But nonetheless, SOMEbody had to whip these so called 'men' into shape. They were terrified of the little goblin like creatures out in the fields, so how were they ever going to take on the bigger beasts that were the actual threats? It was beyond her how this sorry bunch became those that the townspeople were supposed to look to for protection….or how she had come to be in charge of some men that were more than double her age.

"Harrison! For god's sake, I told you to CHARGE the enemy, not sit back and allow them to take you out with a bow shot. And Carson! I appreciate the fact you're trying, but that doesn't mean to swing wildly. You almost took McCullogh's head off…..ugh, you men disappoint me. You know what? Training is suspended for today. Go home and put some serious thought to if you really want to go out in that field or not. If you're only going to hold me back, I don't want to deal with you. Tomorrow at eleven A.M….break for now." She shook her head and turned on her heel, heading in the direction of Telma's bar, which was her usual destination after a quite annoying day of trying to turn the boys into men.

Turning back into one of the more secluded alleys, the girl took a few steps towards the door, before pulling it open and being met with a blast of cool air that calmed her quite a bit. Her eyes twisted to the older woman standing at the bar, who offered a warm smile. "Nina! I was wondering when you were going to make it here. How'd the training go?"

Pulling off her helmet, the girl allowed her dark, shiny brown hair to fall over her shoulders, green eyes brightened a bit and face more open at the sight of her old friend. Upon first glance, one might have guessed she was in her early twenties; but in all honesty she couldn't have been more than seventeen. She tucked the helmet under her arm and shook her head. "Honestly, Telma, I hope this town never gets attacked or we're done for. These men are either to afraid to battle, or to enthusiastic and have no skill."

Telma gave a slight laugh, knowing exactly what she meant. "Isn't it ridiculous? I had to trust some boy who couldn't have been older than you over a mess of soldiers with a few years on them to take me to Kakkariko with the injured Zora boy a few days ago."

Nina shook her head and set her helmet on the bar. "It's a damn shame. With as many monsters as there are around anymore…." She gave a bit of a sigh, before biting her lip and looking up at Telma. "Hey. I have….I have to talk to you about something. In private."

Telma nodded slowly, not really liking the sound of the girl's voice, but lifted a portion of the bar so she could get behind it. Once making sure all the customers were satisfied, she closed the top of the bar and opened a door in the wall that led to where everything was stored. Once they were both in the room, she shut the door and pulled a string to turn on a light bulb, brightening the room. "Okay, honey. Now what's got you so worried?"

Nina ran a hand through her hair, and looked back up at Telma. "Well….I think it has to do with the weird sort of barrier that's appeared around the castle. But I woke up the other morning and, well…" She pulled off both of her gauntlets and set them on a barrel, before pulling off a glove on her right hand and making her hand into a fist, holding it up to show Telma. "This was on it."

"Oh, honey…" Telma started, unsure of what to say as her eyes fixed on the golden triangle on the girl's hand. "Don't you know what that is?" she asked, and as the young girl shook her head, Telma leaned back against the barrels of beer and crossed her arms. "It's called the triforce. I truly can't understand why it might appear on your hand except….perhaps you're chosen."

"Chosen?" Nina questioned, her voice riddled with curiosity. "For what?"

Telma paused a moment, and then launched into her explanation. "You remember the young boy I told you about, the one that helped me to Kakkariko? He had the same mark on his hand. I talked to him briefly…he said he had to figure out how to help save our land. Said it was his duty. Now, I don't remember these old stories the same as I used to, but from what I recall from the legends, there are supposed to be three people who have that mark: two good, one evil. The one corrupted by evil has the mark of power, while the two 'good' or pure people have the marks of courage and wisdom. The two pure of heart have to band together to take down the corrupted one." Seeing the look on Nina's face, she gave a soft smile to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Look. How about I send a letter to Link and have him come in to talk to you? We'll see what he can tell you and figure out where to go from here."

The brunette bit her lower lip, then nodded. "Okay. When should I come back?" she asked, sliding her gloves back on. "Tomorrow?"

Telma laughed a bit and shook her head. "No. I know a postman who will get my letter to him right away, and knowing Link, he'll be right in. Why don't you go home and wash up, and then come back? He should be here by then."

Nina didn't think the boy could be that quick, but decided to take Telma's word for it and headed back to her home. She felt a wave of relief and cooling air as she took off her armor, and then turned the water in her shower on to wash away the days sweat, troubles, and tension. Upon getting out, she pulled on a pair of boots, brown shorts and a light blue top that resembled a shortened tunic with a belt around the middle that she attached the sheath of her sword to so it was easily reachable. She turned to head out, after pulling her gloves back on.

Moments later, she pushed the door to the bar back open and saw a wash of new people perched in different seats. She walked up to Telma, who excused herself from a customer and made her way over to Nina and motioned for her to follow. She made her way over to a table where a lone boy sat, and moved around to take a seat, motioning for Nina to do the same. "Link, honey? This is the girl I was telling you about. Nina, this is Link."

Nina turned her eyes to the blonde boy before her, thinking he seemed somewhat familiar. The shockingly blue eyes, the blonde hair, even the green clothes stirred up something that made her feel as if she had met him somewhere before. She paused a moment, before giving him a quick nod which he returned with a soft smile.

"So, I'm guessing you know what all this is about?" Nina asked, and Link gave a soft nod. "Telma gave me the short version of everything."

"So, what do you think then?" she asked, curious as to what his answer may be. Still, everything seemed almost like a joke to her now-as if somebody had drawn the triforce on whenever she was sleeping. She rested her elbow on the table, chin in the palm of her hand as she fixed her eyes on the boy before her and listened.

"From what I've heard…" he started, thinking back over what information he had gathered thus far on his journey. "I'm guessing you're meant to help."

Nina's brow furrowed, a slight expression of confusion crossing her face. "Help with what? You're going to have to give me some details here."

Link held back a bit of a sigh, he could already tell this girl was going to be a bit of an issue. "You've noticed the spread of monsters over the land, right?...well, there's a way to take them out. It isn't quick and it isn't easy; and a lot of the journey is pretty out of the way. But I suppose this means you're meant to help me get rid of them, and help everything be more….peaceful."

"Woah, wait…journey?" she asked, fixing him with a look of disbelief. "You really expect me to drop what I'm doing trying to train these soldiers and run off to fight monsters? Sounds like some sort of screwed up fairy tale…..but why me, anyway?"

The boy shrugged a bit, unsure himself. "You probably have some sort of skill that will help. Or some type of knowledge. I'm not sure why I have mine either, but there has to be some reason."

Nina blew her bangs back out of her face, and folded her hands. "So, lemme get this straight. I'm essentially supposed to drop everything I'm doing, leaving this town virtually unprotected, and set off with you, somebody I don't even know, in attempt to make everything a-OK and peaceful. And I'm willing to bet there's a pretty high chance that I'll die doing this. Am I right?"

Link hesitated, but then nodded. "Basically. I never said it was fair, or even promising. But it's sort of your duty now."

Telma rested her hand on Nina's shoulder, causing the young girl to look up at her. "Think it over, sweetie. Didn't you say that you wanted to get out in the world and do some good before, anyway?"

_FLASHBACK_

_"Dad, why are you always leaving? You're never home anymore," a five year younger version of Nina pouted, arms crossed and standing alongside the door. Her father was gearing up, his sword and shield lying on the table as he pulled his armor on._

_"It's my job, sweetheart," he told her in a gentle tone. "I'm in charge of my crew of men. We just have to go out and take care of a few monsters, and then we'll be back. I promise."_

_Nina stamped her foot and gave an exaggerated sigh. "But why you? Why couldn't they pick somebody else?"_

_"Nobody else was up to it. They're all to worried," he explained, pulling on his last gauntlet, and reaching for the two items on the table._

_"Scared? But they're soldiers. They're supposed to be fearless! Not afraid of anything….aren't they?"_

_"They are supposed to be. But sometimes, you can't live up to everybody's expectations. Some of them are still young, only a few years older than you."_

_"But there's brave girls who could help! Why won't they let them in the army?"_

_He sighed, and kneeled down, resting a hand on his daughters shoulder. "The soldiers don't think that woman can help. They think that they'll only get in the way and be a pain, and make our job even harder."_

_"I'll show 'em someday, dad! I'm gonna become a soldier, just like you. And when I'm as strong as you, I'll find a way to kill all the monsters and make it safe again!"_

_Her father chuckled, a small smile on his face. "Promise?"_

_"I promise!" she echoed, a proud smile on her face. "If it's the last thing I do. I'll make it safe so you and all the other soldiers don't have to leave their families all the time!"_

_He gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek before standing up. "I know you'll make me proud," he told her, before ruffling her hair. He said his goodbye, promised to be back soon, and headed out the door, leaving Nina alone to her thoughts._

_It was the last time she ever saw her father._

_PRESENT_

Nina raised her eyes from the table and looked at Link. She had made a promise to her father. And even if it was in the foolishness of her youth, that very night he gave his life to keep her and the other townspeople safe. She felt she owed him that much, to carry out her word.

So it might kill her. But she knew in enlisting as a soldier that was a possible consequence. And this boy had a lead….a head start, so to speak, on how to fix everything_._

But did she really want to take the risk?

It was either go out in the field, do what she could, and risk death; or stay in the town, generally safe, and train the sorry bunch of soldiers for a battle that may or may not happen. She really favored her life…..

_I know you'll make me proud…_

"Alright," Nina resolved, knowing as soon as the words were out of her mouth she would regret the decision. "I'll do it."


	2. Chapter 2 : Chatterbox

**SUMMARY:** When Zelda heals Midna from her injuries given by Zant, her life force drains away in the process-but the triforce of wisdom has to go somewhere. When the triforce finds a new host-a local girl who took up a position in the Hyrule Castle Town Guard, and has been having frequent dreams about the end of her town-she feels a pull that suggests there is more in store for her than just commanding the cowardly soldiers around. But can she find the ability to not only trust, but follow the orders of the mysterious boy who's been coming to the town that, according to Telma, could truly use her help? Rated T for language. LinkXOC. Reviews appreciated (:

**AN:** Chapter Two! I'm planning on updating every few days, but right now, I'm on a roll(:

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, or any of the characters; however, I do own Nina and the soon-to-be-presented Loki(:

"Whatever you do, don't touch anything," Nina commanded stiffly before opening the door to her home. It was tiny, but for her it was perfect; a one person home kept clean with her randomly strewn armor pieces being the only signs of clutter. The early afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows and lit everything up, and as the brunette made her way over and picked up the armor pieces, Link stopped just inside the door and looked around.

"Yeah….no problem, but why did we have to stop here?" he asked, causing Nina to turn to face him with a look that seemed to ask if he was stupid plastered across her face. "To get my other weapons, of course. Just this sword isn't gonna cut it," she said simply before pulling the breastplate of armor on a dummy that was standing in the corner. Within a minute she had put almost all of it back on the stand, except for her gauntlets. She pulled the brown gloves on, and the gauntlets went on over those. She flexed her fingers and brushed her hair out of her face before turning. "Alright…weapons. One sec."

She turned the corner and headed into her room, grabbing the two daggers off of her bed and fixing them into the straps she had fixed to the inside of her boots. Her shield she fixed along the back of her belt, so it was easily reachable. The quiver, which was filled with arrows, she temporarily slid over her arm; and the bow she held in her hand as she made her way back out towards Link.

"Alright, I'm ready," she told him as she rounded the corner, and Link straightened up from his position against the wall. "Anything else you need to do before we head out?" he asked,

Nina paused to think. "Uhm...yes, one other thing. I just have to appoint somebody to my position to take over. You know, train the soldiers so maybe they'll be able to protect the town someday…"

Link nodded solemnly, thinking this was taking altogether too long and knowing for a fact Midna was most likely becoming impatient. "So, do you at least know who you want to appoint?"

Nina nodded and ushered him out the door, before pointing up towards the castle. "There's one outside the castle, I know he's on duty now. It won't take long for me to tell him," she promised, and turned to head in that direction. Link followed silently.

"Wow, uh, you don't talk much, do you?" Nina asked as they continued along one of the side streets. A few children went running past them laughing, but other than that the road was deserted.

"Not unless it's needed."

"Well, I'd actually like to get to know you a little if we're going to be working together, y'know. Might make it a little less awkward."

Link was silent.

"So! Uh, how old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Me to," the brunette responded, chewing on her lower lip as she tried to think of a topic of conversation. "How long have you been on this….journey…or whatever you'd call it?"

"A month or two by now."

"Had any other help?"

"No."

"Any family?"

"No."

"Think it'll be over soon?"

"Most likely not."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Wow, you're just a little chatterbox," she mumbled under her breath before heading up to the castle gates. Link stayed at the bottom of the hill, and after a moment or two the guard turned to head back into the castle as Nina started back down the hill.

"That was quick," Link mentioned.

"I think he knew it was coming."

The two continued on in silence, Nina playing with a strand of her hair as she led Link back towards the bar. "And….what are we going to find now?"

"Hm?" Nina asked, eyes flickering over to him.

"We could have just left through the gates near the castle."

"No, we couldn't of," Nina countered. "I need to get my horse. I'm guessing you have one, so I don't want to slow us down by having to walk," she reasoned as she led him down an alley way. Near the doctor's office, there was a set of stables, and Nina walked towards them. She walked past the plain brown, black, and chestnut horses and to one who was almost yellow, a thick mane of black hair streaming down his neck.

"Hey there, Loki," she crooned, sticking out her hand as the horse eased his head forward to nuzzle it. She rubbed his nose as Loki let out a content whinny, then reached for blue blanket she laid on his back. She grabbed the saddle and fitted it around him, strapping it on, before grabbing the bridle and fitting it over him. She opened the gate and lead him out, holding the reigns. Loki looked at Link and tossed his head a bit, while Nina stroked his neck to calm him down.

"He doesn't take well to strangers, but….he's the only horse I have. So he'll have to do for now," she reasoned before taking her quiver off of her arm and tying it to part of the saddle. She stuck the bow in with the arrows, and patted his side once again before looking back over at Link. "Well, I'm ready. Lead the way/"

Link turned and started to lead her through the street, out towards the gate he wanted to exit through. There was no sound except for the occasional townsperson trying to make a sale, and the continuous clip-clopping of Loki's hooves on the road. The occasional person would walk past, looking at the two and the horse curiously, and then scurried along on their way.

As they came up to the gate, one of the guards stopped Link and looked him up and down. "And just what do you think you're doing with Miss Nina's horse?" he asked.

"I'm right here, Harrison," she said with a sigh before walking around the side of Loki, fixing him with a bemused look.

"Oh! Sorry, I couldn't see you," he explained quickly, his hand on the gate. "But, where are you going? I thought we were supposed to have training tomorrow morning?"

"You still will. You know Xander, up at the castle? He'll be taking my position until I get back."

"And how long will that be?"

Nina paused at Harrison's question, and glanced at Link. "I….don't know," she started, before looking back at the guard. "It could be a while, and even then, I might not…."

"Nina?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. His eyebrows furrowed, a slight look of confusion crossing his face. He wasn't used to his commanding officer looking so put off.

"Oh, ah, it's nothing," she quickly covered with a soft smile. "I'll be back soon enough. And I expect you to be a fine soldier when I do show up again, got it?" she half threatened-she wasn't about to let her reputation slip now.

"Yeah! Got it!" he responded, straightening up and opening the gate. "Have a safe trip!"

"Yeah, thanks," Nina mumbled before leading Loki out the gate, stopping at the top of the steps beside Link.

"So, where are we going first?" Nina asked, looking out over the fields.

"To Lake Hylia. It's closest to the place we last explored, and there's a place next that I want to check out.."

"Which is where?"

Link was silent, instead going over to a plant and picking off one of the flowers. He raised it to his mouth, and a tune whistled out that carried on the wind. Nina heard a neigh not far off, and saw a red mare galloping up to Link and nuzzling him softly.

"Well?" Nina asked, walking forward, Loki eying the mare curiously. He let out a soft whinny, which the mare ignored.

"Arbiter's grounds, out in the Gerudo Desert."

"The…why?" she asked, tilting her head. "There's nothing out there but some old ruins and a shit ton of sand."

"I have my reasons," Link said simply before climbing up on Epona. He was ready to lead her forward, but first turned to look and make sure Nina was ready to follow. She stood on the ground still, arms crossed and looking up at him defiantly. "Are you coming?"

"Not until you give me a reason. I'm not going to charge blindly into a desert with no reason other than my partner wants to go there," she countered.

It was apparent she wasn't planning on moving anytime soon until she got her answers, so Link sighed and got back off Epona.

"Okay, fine. There's somebody I want you to meet then."

"Okay….where are they?"

"Well….before she comes out, don't react…immediately. It might be a bit of a shock."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So, where is she?" Nina asked, looking around a bit.

Link cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, Midna?...you can come on out now."


	3. Chapter 3 : History Lesson

**SUMMARY:** When Zelda heals Midna from her injuries given by Zant, her life force drains away in the process-but the triforce of wisdom has to go somewhere. When the triforce finds a new host-a local girl who took up a position in the Hyrule Castle Town Guard, and has been having frequent dreams about the end of her town-she feels a pull that suggests there is more in store for her than just commanding the cowardly soldiers around. But can she find the ability to not only trust, but follow the orders of the mysterious boy who's been coming to the town that, according to Telma, could truly use her help? Rated T for language. LinkXOC. Reviews appreciated (:

**AN:** This chapter was fun to write(: They'll be coming out a bit slower now, since I'm back to work, but I'm aiming for every 2-3 days….onward to the story!

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, or any of the characters; however, I do own Nina and Loki(:

"Well, well, well. I was beginning to think you'd NEVER get a move on and I was just getting ready to settle down for a little nap….horrible timing," a voice echoed, and Nina looked at Link. It seemed to be coming from right behind him….

And then, out of his shadow, came a sort of imp like creature who gave her a smirk as she floated in the air. "You sure did make things difficult, you know. You couldn't just play along like here, you had to question EVERYTHING and put up an argument and…..well, it would have gone a lot more smoothly if you would have just played your part."

"Midna…." Link mumbled, giving a sharp look to the imp. "Don't cause any problems."

"Wait, wait, wait," Nina cut him off, taking a few steps towards the imp. She was a bit taken aback by her appearance-she didn't venture to close-but the creatures words gave her a spark of anger. "You mean you're the reason I'm going on this stupid journey? You're the reason I have this?" she asked, holding up her hand and causing the golden triangle to glow.

Midna flinched at the sight of it, her attitude quickly toning down a notch. "Well, in a way…" she trailed off, turning so she was floating right side up.

"In….? Either you did or you didn't, which was it?"

"It was indirectly," Link explained, and Nina gave him a look that made it clear she wanted answers. _'Man, what is it with this girl? She's worse than Midna!'_ he thought, before resting his arm on Epona's back and leaning against her. "There are these things, fused shadows…"

"You didn't give her any background at all?" Midna asked, turning on him with a bit of an angry look.

"Well, no….I mean, I didn't think it was-"

"You didn't think it was important?" Midna asked, before giving a sigh. "She has to know what she's going up against."

"Yeah, I would rather like to know," the brunette interrupted sourly. "Please, enlighten me."

Midna turned to face her again, drawing her legs up so she was sitting, and regarded the girl with a calm expression. "Did you notice any….change, a while ago? In the town or anything of the sort?"

Nina thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah, you know what, I did. It was only for a little while, but there were a bunch of monsters that actually made their way into the town. That's never happened before. And there were these huge, shining bugs….they were gigantic, and then they disappeared as suddenly as they appeared."

"Right," Midna agreed, and then added, "That's part of what we fixed. I'm part of a race of people called Twili, and we have this self-proclaimed leader named Zant. He's really powerful, and used his power to create a sort of cast of shadow he laid out over the land. What it did was transform your land into ours-shrouded it in Twilight."

"Why?"

"He wanted to expand our kingdom. But see, there's a problem-when a land gets covered in twilight, nothing born in the light can survive there. All of you inhabitants of Castle Town turned into spirits."

"Spirits? But….wouldn't we have had to die?" she asked, then added "And I could hurt the monsters. If I was a spirit, I wouldn't have been able to do that, would I of?"

"That's odd. You shouldn't have been able to," Link murmured, but Midna cut him off. "That's not important now. Anyway, it happened because the spirit of light in this area had its light taken away. Link here restored it, and so the area became light again."

"But shouldn't he have been a spirit to?"

"Gah, stop interrupting!" Midna commanded, before collecting herself. "Anyway. There were four areas we had to do this to, and in three of those areas, there was a temple. Deep in the temples were these artifacts called fused shadows. The fused shadows are really powerful also, and full of magic, and were sealed away because of that. But I thought if I gathered the three of them, that I could use their power to take down Zant. We were all content with our land, and Zant wanting to expand it has only caused problems. So…he needed to be taken care of."

"And did you get rid of him?"

"No," Midna answered, her voice full of malice. "We just gathered the last fused shadow, and came out in the one spirit's spring. Zant appeared-he must have been tipped off somehow. He took the shadows, and exposed me to the spirit's light, which is the one thing we Twili are weak to. He even had the guts to put a curse on Link. I was wounded, and there was only one person I knew who could help us both…so we came to Castle Town."

Here, Nina regarded her curiously, but didn't interrupt.

"We headed through some short cuts, and made our way into Princess Zelda's room," she explained, and Nina's eyes widened. "She was able to lift the curse off of Link, but my injuries were to extreme for her to heal. She….She gave all of her life force to me, essentially giving up her life to save mine."

"Oh, Princess," Nina said softly, shaking her head. "She always was too selfless for her own good."

Midna looked back at Nina, and added, "This is also how you got that," before pointing to the triforce.

Nina's eyes looked down at mark on her hand, and back at Midna in disbelief. "You mean….this was…Zelda's?"

"Yes. I guess in her passing on, the triforce had to go to somebody. So it found the next most suitable person and attached to them. Which would be you," she finished, before floating over to Epona and lying on her back.

Nina took a moment to take it all in-the entire story-and then asked, "So, what now? If Zant has the fused shadows, they were your only hope, weren't they?"

"Ah, see….that's where you're wrong," the imp proclaimed, and sat up. "There's another hope. Zant can teleport between the twilight and the light; all of us Twili can. But Link can't, and I can't just whip him along with me. And now, neither can you," she added. "But there's another hope. If Zant won't come to us, we'll go to him. There's a mirror in the Arbiter's grounds, and we can use that to go find Zant. Once we get through there, and find him, we can finally end this."

"I'm guessing the mirror is somewhere in the ruins of the old prison?" Nina asked, sighing a bit.

"Yeah, actually," Link told her, brow furrowing. "How did you know?"

"Oh, uh, just a lucky guess. I mean, of course everything has to be difficult, and since it's rumored that the spirits of all the murdered men still roam there….it can only be expected," Nina said, stroking Loki.

"Hm…..you know, you're taking awfully well to all of this," Midna said, floating closer to the girl. She looked down at her, and Nina simply gave a shrug. "Well, I sort of accepted I'd be coming across some pretty odd things as soon as I agreed to go with Link," she said, fixing a few of her possessions to the saddle, turning her back to the imp.

"Even then, most would be thinking this is a joke, or backing out about now. Even Link was a little hesitant…." She added, and Link scoffed. "Only because you were biting my head off if I took a break even for a second," he explained, and Nina only shrugged.

"Well, let's just say leading these men around made me come across some pretty weird things. This isn't the oddest by far."

"There's something off about you…." Midna started, but was interrupted by someone shouting "! I HAVE MAIL FOR YOU!"

In the blink of an eye, Midna had disappeared back into Link's shadow, and suddenly there was a figure charging towards them at a fast pace. He stopped in front of Link and reached into a pack he had at his side, pulling out a letter and handing it over to Link. "This is for you! From Telma. She said it was urgent and would help you, so I ran as fast as I could to deliver it!"

"Oh…thanks, I guess."

He saluted Link, and shouted, "Have a wonderful day! Onward to mail!" before charging off in the opposite direction, back towards the town.

"Well. He's quite a character," Nina observed, before looking back at Link. "Well? Are you going to open it or not?"

Link flipped the top of the envelope open, and pulled the letter out, reading it out loud to the two.

_Dear Link,_

_I wanted to let you know that one of our sources, Auru, wasn't at the bar; but has contacted me and revealed he has some information that might help you on your journey. He said that he'll be near Lake Hylia, atop the tallest tower there. He's been observing the desert for some time now, and I'm sure he can help you out at least a little. I hope the postman delivers this letter to you on time, and you aren't to far off. Good luck on your journey, and come see me once you get back. Stay safe._

_ Telma_

"Well, at least we have another lead now," Nina observed. Link nodded, looking over towards Lake Hylia, and seeing the tower Telma was talking about. It was just a speck in the distance, but if they hurried along, they could get there before sunset.

"We might as well get along, and not waste anymore time," Link said before clambering up on Epona.

"Yeah, you're right," Nina agreed, raising herself up and swinging herself onto Loki's saddle, getting comfortable. She looked about, not seeing any monsters, goblins, or anything else in sight. She trotted Loki up alongside Link, and tilted her head to the side. She blinked her big, green eyes suggestively; and then smirked. "Well, if we're gonna be stuck together for a while, we might as well make this interesting," she said, Loki looping around Epona slowly. By the time she stopped in front of him again, she looked thoughtful, and then straightened up. "Race ya there," she said suddenly, before snapping Loki's reigns and causing the stallion to charge off in the direction of Lake Hylia.

Link sighed and shook his head. "This is going to be a long journey," he mumbled before sending Epona speeding off in the same direction, Nina and Loki already far ahead.


	4. Chapter 4 : Flying Chickens, Damnit!

Link snapped the reigns he held in his hands, making Epona gallop as fast as she could towards the figure in front of him. The wind was blowing past him, creating a cooling breeze; and everything flew by in a blur. He had only pushed his loyal mare to travel this fast once before; he could tell she didn't like it. But even at this alarmingly fast pace, it didn't seem like he was getting any closer to Nina and Loki. Man, that horse was _quick_.

Finally, he saw his companion glance back over her shoulder, and pull back on the reigns to slow down. Loki reared up, letting out an annoyed whinny, and tossed his head some. As soon as he was firmly planted on the ground once more, he dug his hooves into the ground, stamping about impatiently.

As Link closed in, Nina gave a bit of a smirk and called out, "What's the matter, couldn't keep up?"

Her playful mood vanished, however, as she saw the slight irritation on Link's face. "This is not a game," he told her, halting Epona alongside the two. "It isn't something you can just joke around about and hope it turns out well. If you don't take it seriously, you'll end up dead."

"Why are you such a kill joy? I'm just trying to make our path to Lake Hylia a little more fun."

"I'm trying to make sure you don't die."

"I can handle myself, thank you very much," Nina retorted sourly, before turning Loki back towards the lake and pushing him forward again. Link shook his head, giving a bit of a sigh, before following her.

Most of the trip went on in silence. There was the occasional monster that came charging up towards them, but it wasn't anything that couldn't be handled by a quick swing of the sword, or in some cases just running them down with the horses. The sun was still high in the sky as they came upon the lake, which was reflecting the light and making the waters twinkle. They stopped the horses next to the bridge as Nina looked around a bit.

"So…..how do we get down there?" she asked, peering around for a path.

"Well, there's that building, over there," Link said, nodding towards a shop that overlooked the lake. "Some guy makes a business by selling rides with cuccos down to the lake."

"Uh….no."

"No?"

"I'm not a big fan of heights," Nina explained, "or at least heights where I know I can drop and get hurt. I'll find my own way down, thanks," she said, before glancing around.

"There isn't a trail; I've already looked a bunch of times. You can climb up, but it's a lot more dangerous to climb down."

"Fine then," the brunette started, before jumping off of the horse. "You can ride your chickens, or whatever, I know how I'm getting down there."

"How?" Link asked, as he to dismounted Epona. Nina stroked Loki's nose, before grabbing her quiver and bow off of the horse and holding it out to Link. "If you're going down the safe way, take this with you."

Link hesitated, before grabbing the two and looking over at the house. "So how do you plan on getting down?"

"C'mere, I'll show you," she said, before leading him towards the bridge. She walked on a few steps, before motioning for him to follow her over towards one of the sides. "You see that water down there? It's really, really deep," she told him before climbing up onto the wall.

"Wait-no, don't-"

But Nina ignored his words, leaping off of the bridge and falling towards the water. While in most cases if you hit the water, you would severely injure yourself; Nina angled her body so she sliced cleanly through the water. The blonde relaxed a bit as he saw her break through the surface, seemingly fine. "See? A lot easier than riding a chicken down here. Which one ya gonna do?"

Link hesitated, wanting to just take the cucco ride but figuring this would save some time, not to mention rupees. He waited until Nina swam over to the shore and tossed her bow and quiver down, and then his own sword and shield. He to climbed up onto the wall, and after a deep breath, jumped.

It was a swift sensation of falling, the wind stung his eyes and he had to fight to angle himself the same way so nothing hurt. He managed to at the last second, and upon breaking the surface started to swim towards the piece of land as well.

"See? It was actually fun, wasn't it?" Nina asked, handing him his supplies.

"You have a sick idea of fun," Link mumbled, before glancing up at the tower. It was only a little away now, just up the hill they were standing on. Nina wrung out her hair, which was now hanging in damp waves and clinging to her face, before squeezing the water out of her tunic as well. She looked at Link, who didn't seem to mind the extra water on his body, and shrugged before turning and starting to lead the ascent up the hill.

It wasn't steep, but the path up was quite the pain. Not only were there many tekitites, or 'mutated water spiders' as Nina put it; but there were also many monstrous birds, steep little paths filled with rocks, and some little creatures that blew up in your face if you weren't careful. Finally though, the end was in sight, and knowing that once they cleared the nearly vertical path before them they'd be done seemed to give them extra strength. The two managed to climb up without any further injuries to themselves, and at the top they stopped to catch their breath.

The two looked up at the tower before them, and Nina groaned. "What, we have to scale that later now? This is more a fitness test than a quest to save the world, damn."

Link shook his head and walked over, grabbing hold of the ladder and testing it. He yanked it a bit, it wasn't loose, and deemed it safe enough for both of them to scale at the same time. He put his foot on the bottom rung, hand up a few, and began to pull himself along the ascent. Nina reluctantly followed.

Soon enough, Link gripped the top of the tower and pulled himself up, looking at a single figure standing before them. He had his back turned, and seemed to just be observing the immense expanse of sand before him. Link heaved himself onto the floor, before straightening up and turning to help pull Nina up as well. At the sound of their footsteps, the man turned around and paused, before a slight smile crossed his face.

"Ah, you must be friends of Telma's," he started, and the two nodded. "I am Auru. I've devoted much of my time to studying the desert-seeing what I could find out from pure observation. I'm lead to believe that the both of you have interest in getting to the desert, am I correct?"

Nina looked to Link, who nodded. "Yes, uh….can you tell us anything about the Arbiter's Grounds? We have reason to believe something we need to look into is there."

Auru motioned for them to come forward, and pointed out to the sea of sand. "The Arbiter's Grounds is the prison they used to send all the criminals to. They'd be locked up, away from the light and most human contact, until it was time for their execution. The executions took place one of two ways, either by the actual act of killing them, or by sending them through this mirror they kept, called the Mirror of Twilight. But rumor has it that the malicious spirits of the inmates still roam the structure, making it advisable to not go close to the building in general. Not to mention from what I've seen, some of the monsters around here have set up a sort of base in there, so it would be more dangerous than ever along with all the natural predators and enemies you might find in there. There's one other problem, as well."

Link tilted his head, and asked "Well, whats that?"

Auru sighed a bit, and pointed at the jagged mountains surrounding the deserts. "There isn't any easy way in. The mountains are unscaleable, the grounds around them severely dangerous, and we have no way to teleport. You'd have to find your own way out, but I can get you in."

"How's that?" Nina asked, crossing her arms. Now, Auru turned and pointed to a giant, cannon-shaped building. "The man that runs that contraption….I saved him once, and he owes me a lot. He usually charges to send people anywhere-it's entirely safe-but I'm sure I can convince him to send you into the desert at no cost. Do you still want to go?"

"I don't think we really have a choice," Nina said, before looking at Link. The blonde nodded in agreement, before looking back to the old man.

"Okay, wait just a moment," he said. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a piece of paper and opened it to read over it. He handed it to Link, and said "Give this to the man so he knows I sent you. You should be fine from then on out."

With a quick thank you, and then a rushed farewell, Link and Nina turned to head back down the ladder. Moments later, they dropped the last few foot into the lush grass beneath them, and turned to head back down the hill.

By now, the sun was setting; the sky was a fiery shade of orange and quickly becoming darker. The two were on high alert for any beasts that might have been lurking nearby, weapons at the ready to take care of them. The time passed without any encounters, however, and soon enough the bridge came into view. They crossed it quickly, Link leading the way as a short man with odd make up came into view. Nina regarded him curiously, and followed behind her companion as they closed in on him.

"Hm, what do we have here? Customers?" he asked with a cackle, face delighted as he rubbed his hands together. Link simply handed the letter to him, which the man read with a fallen spirit. "Auru, the old coot, huh? Well….I do owe him….alright. One oasis flight, coming up! This time around will be free, but the next time, it'll cost ya…"

With that, he moved aside and ushered them through. The two stepped inside the cannon, the door closing behind them and enclosing them in total darkness. There was faint music that started to play, and the cannon tilted, causing the two to fall on each other. Nina wriggled a bit, trying to make herself more comfortable, as she heard a soft ticking noise coming from somewhere below them.

"Uhm, Link…are you sure this is safe?" she asked, voice heavy with anxiousness.

"Well...Auru said it was…" he started, which didn't calm the girl's nerves any. Soon, the last note of the song played, and with high screams the companions were launched into the air.


End file.
